Wednesday 11 June 2014

World of Tanks: Today in History: Wyborg Operation

The Wyborg operation was a part of the Wyborg-Petrozavodsk strategic offensive, executed to ensure safe passage of goods being passed from Murmansk to the rest of the USSR and the destruction of Finnish forces in the immediate vicinity of Leningrad, continuously threatening it.

The operation was executed by forces of the right wing of the Leningrad Front (commanded by Army General L.A. Govorov, Marshall after June 18th, 1944), the Red Banner Baltic Fleet, and Ladoga Military Fleet. The goal was driving the enemy from the Karelo-Finnish SSR and the north parts of the Leningrad region, restoring the pre-war border with Finland.

June 10th, 1944, is considered the official start date of the operation, but Soviet artillery began its barrage on June 9th, lasting about 10 hours, and recce in force with elements of the 10th and 92nd Infantry Divisions of the 92nd Army. As a result of the battles, the enemy was forced out of the salients at Mertut and Duna settlements.

On June 10th, after a secondary artillery barrage that lasted two and a half hours, the 21st Army advanced into battle. During the day, the army penetrated 12 kilometers of Finnish defenses. The enemy took heavy losses, was demoralized, and began retreating into the forests.

On June 11th, Soviet forces occupied the settlements of Terijoki and Raivola. Around Kivenappa, elements of the 30th Guards Infantry Corps encountered fierce resistance from a Finnish tank division, armed primarily with captured T-26 and T-28 tanks. Taking advantage of the lack of decisive action from Soviet forces, the Finns managed to push back the Soviet advance and hold their defenses for several hours. After regrouping for a joint assault with tanks and artillery, the Soviets drove the Finns out of this territory and forced them to retreat.

By June 20th, fighting was happening in Wyborg and its outskirts. Enemy resistance was split into several parts, and the Finns were forced to retreat to the Wyborg-Kuparsaari-Taipale line.

On June 21st, Soviet forces began the Svir-Petrozavodsk operation, the second part of the Wyborg-Petrozavodsk strategic offensive, which concluded on August 9th in a Soviet victory. On August 25th, 1944, Finland sued for peace, and on September 4th, an order was issued to cease combat action against the USSR, and on September 25th, a peace treaty was signed with the USSR.

Original article available here.

2 comments:

  1. Nice to see that the fights between Finland and USSR has got some attention from the Wargaming, even though the article has many flaws:

    "...Finnish forces in the immediate vicinity of Leningrad, continuously threatening it."
    It might've been threatening in 1941 when Finns captured Karelian Isthmus back, but Finland didn't want to attack to the city of Leningrad, so the attack was stopped and a trench war period started, which lasted 2 and a half years. I don't think even Stalin felt threatened in 1944 that Finland would attack to the Leningrad.

    Soviet written history tends to "forget" that the Offensive in Karelian Isthmus lasted longer than 10 days. After the capture of Viborg, Soviet forces tried to advance deeper in Finland, their next objective being Kymi river. Soviet forces made 4 attacks in the directions of Tienhaara, Tali-Ihantala, Äyräpää-Vuosalmi and the Viborg Bay, which all were defensive victories for Finns, Tali-Ihantala being the largest battle in the history of Nordic Countries. After 17th of July the battles calmed down in Karelian Isthmus and Soviets started to move troops further south against Germans.

    "On June 21st, Soviet forces began the Svir-Petrozavodsk operation, the second part of the Wyborg-Petrozavodsk strategic offensive, which concluded on August 9th in a Soviet victory."
    When Soviet Offensive started in the Karelian Isthmus, Finns started to move troops there from the East Karelia. The remaining Finnish troops withdrew to Ladoga Karelia delaying Soviet troops on their way. The last grand battle was the Battle of Ilomantsi, which ended in August 13, when two Soviet divisions barely escaped destruction by breaking out from Finnish encirclements leaving all their heavy equipment behind.

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  2. I believe you're downplaying the importance of the battles following the fairly "easy" loss of Vyborg, in the Karelian Isthmus. In Tienhaara (right after Vyborg), Tali-Ihantala, Vuosalmi and Bay of Vyborg.
    Also, the defensive battles further up north; U-asema (especially in Nietjärvi) and Ilomantsi, convinced the Soviets that they should focus on Berlin instead.

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